The Switch
by likeoneofhisfrenchgirls
Summary: Sworn enemies Claire Redfield and Kevin Ryman find themselves trapped in each other's bodies, which they use as a way of getting back at each other.


**The Switch**

1

"'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." Claire Redfield gripped the spine of her copy of Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, her body outstretched on her queen-sized bed and her imagination running wild. If there was one thing Claire loved most, it was a relaxing night in with a book in front of her.

"Nor hath Love's mind of any judgement taste, Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste. And therefore is Love said to be a child, because in choice he is so oft beguiled." Claire sighed, clutching her necklace to her chest. She could just picture Helena now, saying the very words she was reading in her head. She could picture everything happening as if it were happening right in front of her. The scenery around her, the sounds, the smells, the-

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted the night air. Claire jumped, her body suddenly alert and her mind interrupted with the sound of… music? She immediately frowned and fixated her gaze back onto her book.

"As waggish boys in game themselves forswear…" Claire continued to read, although it was impossible to focus on her thoughts with such a _loud_ noise. Furrowing her eyebrows, Claire brought herself closer to her book and was determined to continue with her reading. Unfortunately for her, the producer of such a loud noise wasn't intent on giving her a break and continued to blast the music.

"That's it." Claire muttered, hoisting herself off her bed and onto the floor. She knew who was making noise and she knew him very well. As a matter of fact, he was her next door neighbour and sworn enemy, Kevin Ryman. Just as the Montagues and Capulets in Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_, Claire and Kevin had been rivals since the moment they met. Kevin was a narcissistic, dumb jock. He had no appreciation for the arts or for anything that required more than five minutes of thought.

Lifting her window open, Claire stuck her head out. She could see the culprit already, moving around his room in nothing but a towel and blissfully unaware of the turmoil he was causing her. Or maybe he was aware and that's what put him in such a good mood.

"Excuse me! Hey!" Claire shouted, glaring right at the bedroom window opposite to her. "Hello? Would it be possible for you to turn the noise down?"

Kevin's window opened and he stuck his head out. "Huh? Did you say something?" He called out, which only infuriated Claire even more. Way to be a complete jerk.

"I said, could you please turn that racket down?" Claire shouted, holding onto her ears. The noise was so loud she was surprised someone hadn't called the cops to shut down Kevin's little party.

"You want me to turn it down?" Kevin asked, making a gesture with his hands that represented someone turning a knob. Claire eagerly nodded, anxious to get back to her book. "Alright, I'll make you a little deal." Kevin smirked, balancing his elbows on his windowsill. "Flash me and I'll turn it down."

Claire emitted a noise of such disgust that Kevin could hardly contain his laugh. "You're disgusting!" She shouted, immediately pulling away from the window.

"Come on, it's not like I haven't seen it before!" Kevin teased, almost unable to finish his sentence without laughing. Claire glared at him and slammed her window shut, making sure to draw the curtains.

Sitting on her bed, Claire grabbed her book and closed it. There was no way she'd be able to focus on anything until Kevin turned his music down and from the looks of it, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. _What an asshole, _she seethed. It was almost impossible for Kevin to be civil in any manner, what did she expect?

She angrily turned off the lights and climbed into bed, slamming her head on the pillow and pressing the sides against her ears. What had started out as a relaxing night had quickly turned into one of annoyance.

With the faint sound of Kevin's music and pitch black surrounding her, Claire couldn't help but think about just how big of an asshole he was. Ever since they were little, Kevin had always picked on her. They had this tree that was situated right in between the Redfield and Ryman's property. Claire could remember how much she used to love that tree in her youth and how she was always playing around it when she was younger. Unfortunately, that tree also reminded her of all the times Kevin would torment her. She had footballs flung at her head, rowdy boys run through her snowmen and Kevin's ever annoying presence around her throughout her childhood.

She couldn't exactly remember how it all started, just that it had always been that way. Kevin had always been a complete jerk to her and so she had always been a complete jerk right back. The worst part of it all was that no matter how many times her older brother Chris would come to her rescue, Kevin would just pretend as if Chris didn't exist and continue to bother her.

Claire let out a groan. Between Kevin's headache inducing music and the memories of his terrorizing antics, Claire wanted nothing more than to wipe him completely out of existence. If there was some kind of possibility, then she would most likely do so. Sadly, she wasn't going to risk facing jail time for someone as worthless as Kevin when she had her entire future awaiting her.

Letting out one last frustrated sigh Claire closed her eyes, waiting for the music to stop and for sleep to fall over her.

"I got something for you."

Claire lifted her head from her bowl of oatmeal to see her father waving a closed envelope over her head. "What is it?" She asked, a quizzical look forming on her face.

"Open it up and see, kiddo." Mr. Redfield said, dropping the envelope in front of her and taking a seat at the head of the table. Claire looked nervously at the envelope and quickly grabbed it, delicately opening it so as not to damage whatever was inside.

Her mother, who was sitting opposite of her, watched her intently with a smile on her face as Claire's bright blue eyes scanned the letter. Once she was finished, Claire put the letter down and took a deep breath. "My interview with Yale is next week." She whispered, a sudden feeling of excitement and fear rushing over her.

"Oh isn't this fantastic!" Her mother gushed, her face brightening as she clasped her hands together. "Our little girl is going to Yale!"

"Well she hasn't been accepted yet, honey." Mr. Redfield reminded her as Claire sent a small smile his way.

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Redfield exclaimed, pulling her hair to the right side of her face. Mrs. Redfield was unfortunately cursed with a beauty mark that often attracted too much unwanted attention, and as a result she was always self-conscious about the placement of her hair. "If I know Claire, I know that she will succeed. She has never let us down before." She let out an excited squeal and smiled at both her husband and daughter.

Before Claire could say anything else on the subject, a car horn was heard from the front of their driveway. "That must be Chris! He's going to be so excited to hear the news!" Mrs. Redfield exclaimed as she got up from her seat and rushed to the door.

Claire had completely forgotten that her brother was coming to visit for a while. Ever since he had moved out for school, it was almost as if she was an only child. Although he didn't visit much, Chris tried to visit whenever he could. It always made Claire so happy to see her brother and she was glad he was going to be there when she had her interview with Yale.

"Was the traffic bad? Any collisions? Did you sleep well enough?" Claire could hear her mother fire away as she heard the sound of luggage hitting the floor and the footsteps of her older brother draw closer.

"Christopher!" Mr. Redfield exclaimed with outstretched arms when he saw Chris enter the kitchen. "You look taller!"

"Well, you know, all that take-out food I've been eating is rich in protein." Chris joked, his eyes bright and a wide grin on his face.

"Christopher! What did I say about take-out food?" Mrs. Redfield scolded from the hallway as she dragged in Chris' bags. Chris rolled his eyes and made his way towards his father and sister.

"How's it going, granola breath?" He ruffled Claire's hair and she let out a yelp. "Hey, relax, it's not picture day." He teased as she slapped him on the arm in retaliation. Mr. Redfield pulled Chris into a bear hug, before grabbing his suitcase.

"Well I'm off to work. Claire, you should hurry up before you miss the bus." He warned her, waving the two off as he left the room.

"I guess someone's got to go." Chris said, sitting down in their father's seat and faking a frown.

"If I want to give a good impression to Yale, I have to have perfect attendance." Claire smiled, handing her brother the letter.

"No way, Claire! You got in?" He asked eagerly, flipping through the papers.

"Not yet." Claire replied, grabbing her bag from beside her. "But my interview is next week."

Chris let out a wide grin, pulling her into a hug. "That's amazing! Congratulations, little sis!" Claire let out an even bigger smile. "After school we'll talk all about it. Hurry up so you don't miss the bus."

Claire nodded and grabbed her things. "I'll see you later!" She said, waving as she headed out of the kitchen. "Bye mom!" She called, not bothering to wait for her mother's response. She was in such a good mood, she had completely forgotten about Kevin's antics from last night and didn't even notice his house as she made her way down the street.


End file.
